Huntsville gazette., 1887-03-19
A FEARFUL WRECK
A Train, Loaded Principally with
Working People,

A Train, Loaded Principally with
Working People,
Crashes Through a Bridge Near Boston,
Killing Over Thirty Outright and
Wounding Twice as Many More
Heartrending Details.
Boston, March 15-The recent terrible
disaster at the White River bridge on the
Central Vermont railway was paralleled
yesterday, and with the exception OF the
fire feature almost duplicated at Bussey
bridge, on the Dedham branch of the
Boston q Providence road. AT White
River four cars were thrown from the
track upon bridge seventy feet above
river and went down with the bridgo on
to the ice below. resulting in the death OF
thirty-two 1ecpfa, and the injury Of nearly
forty more. At Bussey bridge six cars
were thrown from the track upon a dry
bridge forty feet above the highway and,
with the brid re, crashed down into the
street, resulting in the death of, accord
ing to latest reports. thirty two people
and the wounding of from forty to sixty
more. At White River the engine and two
Ndl . pdSScQ Sdlcly OVCI VIC OE1uSC dHu
their occupants escaped as by miracle.
At Bussey bridge the engine and three
cars passed safely over and their human
freight escaped with only jar.
The scene Of yesterdays aw ful calamity
is seven miles southwest from Beacon
Hill. Between the Forest Hill and Rosln-
dale stations, on the De1ham branch,
South street makes a graceful curve, and
npdnr tho r-ojlrnal 1ub,ch p1Gn
curves at that point The bridge crosses
over the highway diagonally at a height
of forty feet, and was $50 feet long. The
point is upon the border of the old Bussey
farm, now the property of Harvard Col
lege, and the seat Of the Arnold
Arboretum.
At seven o'clock yesterday morning the
workingmen's train, consisting of an
engine, eight passenger coaches and a
sEoking-car, left Dedham for Boston.
Webster White was the engineer; Con-
ductor Webster N. Drake, of Dedham,
was in charge of the train, and was as
sisted by conductors Myron w. Tildon, OF
Dedham, and Mr. Stubs.
Immediately behind the locomotive was
a passenger car. Following next were
seven ordinary day cars most of them of
the old fashioned type, at least with cast
iron stoves in the middle Of the car, and
the rear was brought up by the smoking
car-nine cars in all. Stops were made at
Spring street and West Roxbury, High
land, Central and Roslindae station, leav-
ing the last station with about three hun
dred people on board mostly Workingmen
and women, shop and store girls, with
lunch baskets In hand, chatting and
laughing nlerrily, and a few business
men. The three forward cars were more
densely crowded than any of the others.
At just fifteen minutes past seven the
train rounded the curve, and passed upon
the bridge. The engine had just crossed
the last abutment, when Engineer w hite
felt jar as if the train had struck some
thing, hastily glancing backward out of
his cab window, he saw and heard, as did
the engineer of that fated Central Ver-
mont train, the rear cars and the bridge
falling with crash into the abyss below
The three cars Immediately following the
engine had safely crossed the bridge, but
had been thrown from the track. En-.
gincer White at once uncoupled his
engine, and, putting on all the steam pos
sible, ran down towards Forest Hill sta
ton.
j. II. Lannon, fish dealer, was driving
up from Forest Hill toward the scene of
the disaster, when the engine came down
the track whistling wildly. The locomo.
tive slowed down at the Forest Hill cross
ing, and Lannon stopped his team, shout
ing to the engineer: whats the mat
tcr!"
''My train has gone through the bridge;
telegraph TO Boston," was the reply.
i.annon went TO the stat :on w,in the mes
sage, which was quickly flashed over the
wires Then he FASTENED back 10 his
team and drove up TO the wreck, being
tho first outsider 10 reach the spot.
Arriving at Forest Hili the engineer at
once rang in fire alarm. which summoned
to tho scene the fire department OF Roslin-
dale, with steamer and hook and ladder
truck from Jamaica Plain.
Having thoroughly aroused the sur
rounding communities, and telcgraphcd
the disaster to the officials, Engineer
White rcmounted his engine and ran her
back to the wreck, where crowds were
already gathering.
When j. H. Lannon, the fish dealer, who
was first on the ground. arrived, cries and
groans were coming from all parts of the
awful heap. Bruised and wounded. people
were crawling out from all sides. He
found an ak and climbed upon the third
car that lay in the trench, two others be-
ing beneath it. The cries of the injured
came most from this car, he thought. He
crawled through window and went to
work. A woman first demanded his at
tention. She was pinned down by the
feet, and two seats and the body OF man
lay on top of her. The body and seats
were soon got out OF the way. Working
on the wood and iron which held her down
caused her to scream with fresh agony,
and it was some moments before she was
freed Lannon dragged her to window,
and two men, James McLaren and James
Cronan, helped him lift her out.
Four men, three of them dead, were
taken from this car by these three men.
By this time the fremeD had arrived,
and they, with the uninjured from the
wreck were hard at work, first rescuing
the imprisoned ones who were injured,
and afterward in the more difficult task OF
digging ont the dead from the Shapel0SS